Monday, December 10, 2007

A short timeout from basketball season for a quick update on the Charlotte 49ers’ baseball team.Over the weekend, two Charlotte players were named to the 2008 Wallace Watch list, one of several player of the year awards given to college baseball’s best player. Those named were outfielder Brad McElroy and catcher/outfielder Chris Taylor.Last season, McElroy became the sixth 49er to bat .400 or better in a season (.401) and paced Charlotte with 11 home runs, 68 RBIs and a .661 slugging percentage. He had nearly a third of the team’s hit by pitch at-bats with 15. McElroy, a senior from St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, led the Atlantic 10 in hits (97), runs scored (65), RBIs (68) and doubles (26).Taylor, a senior from Mount Pleasant, N.C., finished fourth on the team with a .340 average, while learning the outfield position. He split time as the designated hitter and a right fielder, belting 25 doubles, second only to McElroy in the Atlantic 10. For the season, he had nine home runs, 65 runs driven in and 25 doubles.Charlotte set a school record with 49 wins last season, including a pair of victories in the NCAA Columbia Regional. Charlotte opens the 2008 season at 4 p.m. Feb. 22 at Hayes Stadium when it hosts Manhattan.